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Topic: Rapoon "Dark Rivers" (Read 2744 times)

To those who "gave up" on Rapoon releases, this one's for you. I decided not to order this one initially from the short sound samples I had heard, plus the last couple of releases were pretty uneven and too experimental for my taste. Dark Rivers, however, is one to get: dark, very droney, and much more like his earlier music, but with a more hi-tech (i.e. not "lo-fi") sound. No weird female vocals, no overuse of spoken samples. He got it right on this one.

It's hard to for me to shake the idea (based on most of what Rapoon has done in the past years) that this album isn't another bad hand wrapped in an interesting package. I seriously would have to hear the whole album (or hear a thorough review from someone whose taste I entirely trust) before I would think of buying it. Rapoon can certainly sound good in a short blast sample, but can he still sustain interest across a whole album?

Rapoon lost me when he started using Acid and other software-based tools - he lost that organic vibe his earlier stuff had. Too bad, his earlier stuff is fantastic.

Generally I agree, but I thought both From Shadows Sleep and Library Of The Dead were a fine return to form. They both have that lo-fi graininess that's crucial to Rapoon's sound. And Library is one weird and wild ride...

Just got the Dark Rivers : very well done, IMO...a return to "classic Rapoon". Just wish that there'd be some ethnic percussion elements. Nothing ground-breaking, probably, but definitely recommended for Rapoon fans.